First and foremost, buyers must verify that the project has a proper registration under the applicable state RERA and must review the project details disclosed on that authority’s website carefully. RERA specifically stipulates that a promoter is generally not permitted to market or sell a project if it falls under its ambit if it has not been duly registered, subject to limited statutory exceptions.

In some cases, the project’s plot size may be small enough to exempt it from RERA registration. In such a case, buyers must understand their rights under other applicable laws, such as MOFA in Maharashtra. The Maharashtra Ownership Flats Act, 1963, is a state law that regulates the construction, sale, management, and transfer of flats in the state of Maharashtra and protects buyers from various kinds of frauds by developers. It also mandates clear project disclosures and governs the formation of housing societies and conveyance deeds.

Secondly, buyers must not make any substantial payments solely based on verbal assurances or booking forms. The law specifies that no promoter can accept more than 10% of the cost of an apartment, plot, or building as an advance or application fee if there is no written agreement for sale in place.

Buyers must also ask for a complete payment breakup in writing. The base price is only a part of the story – other charges can impact the real cost of acquisition very meaningfully.

Thirdly, you must check the payment plan for actual affordability. The affordability of any payment plan must be fully stress-tested – you must completely understand if you can sustain paying the instalments even if interest rates increase or the project is delayed, in which case you will have to pay rent for longer than you initially thought. A payment plan may pass the ‘wind tunnel’ test – meaning it may make sense on paper and under normal circumstances – but will it remain comfortable if the market changes for any reason?

And last but not the least, go for an independent legal professional to thoroughly check the sales agreement. Payment plans are designed to look good on paper, but what matters most is what is written into the contract – including default clauses, delay provisions, refund terms, and escalation conditions. A property payment plan can only work well if you understand everything it implies-in terms of payment schedules, the total cost and all the underlying legal commitments- Akash Pharande, MD, Pharande Spaces